Music, Mugs, and Digital Meetings

Once again, I find myself in front of the keyboard at the end of the week. It’s time to look at the week with the kind of introspection some people like to subject themselves to–and others run away from with the intensity of a Hollywood disaster movie.

The road between my house and the bus stop is lined with a lovey park on one side and a group of shops that occupy an unusual series of buildings on the other. What I mean is that they look more like a small villa than a shopping centre–that is until you reach the Asian store located across the parking lot–that is unmistakably a supermarket. Many of these stores have an upscale image and must survive on a well heeled clientele–some of the stores are far too niche to survive otherwise. There are a few restaurants, some designer boutiques, a comic book shop, a Dutch bakery, and a children’s book store. There are also a number of other stores, but I don’t do much shopping there.

As I got off the bus on Thursday, I noticed a number of tents set up in the small parking lot. I was curious, but I was also pretty tired from teaching. I couldn’t make anything out, but since I had never seen tents in that parking lot….well, my curiosity got the better of me. As I got closer, I could see that someone was on the microphone and playing a rather large instrument. I didn’t get very close, but I got close enough that the person who turned out to be the singer invited us over. I generally don’t like being picked out of crowd like that…but I guess since there were only two of us that isn’t really a crowd. We approached.

As I took up position near the events, a person approached us to explain that this was a performance put on by the Aurora Cultural Centre–which has been somewhat homeless since the Aurora Library and library square started renovations. The performer was Sophie Lukacs and in addition to singing also plays the 21 stringed Kora. Her voice was quite good and the instrument was unique. She was singing a kind of folk music on an instrument I had never heard or seen before. I really enjoyed it. We spent a bit of time listening, but weariness overtook us and we headed home. For the short time we were there, it was great to enjoy the music.

On Friday, a student presented me with a fabulous gift. It was a large coffee mug emblazoned with “the best Teacher ever.” What I need to explain about this person and this mug is that while she has been at the school, she wasn’t actually my student. During some part of the pandemic, she joined my online class from Brazil. I had other online students, but at the time, she was one of the very few that weren’t actually in Canada, or more specifically in Toronto. She had internet issues and eventually paused her studies.

Some time ago, she decided to do her last two weeks in person. She toured around the country first. I knew this because I follow her on Instagram. When she showed up at the school, she knocked on the teacher’s door to introduce herself. Because I had been following her, and because she is pretty memorable, I was able to say her name before she introduced herself. She was relieved, or happy. or some emotion like that. So that’s how I earned my mug and title without actual teaching.

Today, in the midst of writing this post, my two best friends and I got together for a video chat. I am so grateful for technology. It was good to hear what both of them had been up to. These are the same people I met up with recently in my post One More for the Road. It is with pride that I say I have had the same friends for more than 30 years. We’ve all got our adventures and I am glad to see we are all living an interesting life.

I hope everyone reading this has a Monday that is somewhat better than your average Monday.

If you found this post interesting, please visit the ongoing site where this post originated from. It can be found at todaysperfectmoment.wordpress.com

Compassion Given

I entered work on a sombre note. A friend and co-worker, the person who occupied the desk beside me for about half the year, unexpectedly (to me at least) passed away over the weekend.  His name was Douglas and he was a very interesting individual who had done a wide variety of things before coming to teaching at a later age.  He is one of two people who have been at the company longer than I have.  He was well liked, had a great sense of humour, and both musical and visually artistic abilities.  He liked organizing concerts and events.  He also had seen some of the greatest acts of the 20th century performing live at both large and small venues.  It was no wonder he had an encyclopaedic knowledge of music.

Though the goal of this post was not to eulogize him, I seem to have done that. It is probably important to understand, to at least a minor degree, who he was before I can explain Today’s Perfect Moment.

I entered work on a very sombre note. I glanced at his desk.  The duty of teaching the final week of his class would fall to me.  I wanted to do right by him and the students, but I really didn’t know where to begin.

The only other person who had been at the company longer than I walked into the staff room. She was crying.  I was worried that she had only now just heard the news.  Instead, she’d been weeping and laughing for the past day recounting memories of the man.

It was then that several people approached the two of us offering hugs, handshakes, and whatever we needed. I don’t know how I should characterize it.  Obviously they thought we would be the most affected as we might have been closest to him.  They wanted to help and it was nice to see that in this world often characterized as impersonal and cold, that people would make a point of immediately reaching out.

Later on in the day, I got a message that messenger had a big run of people commenting on his passing. Our former Director of Studies (DOS) put out a message to those who no longer work at the same company, but who knew him.  There condolences and written memories of the man reminded me that there is a unique community of souls amongst those who’ve worked with us.  I have called them an odd bunch, but they are compassionate and they tell some great stories.

It’s hard to consider these Perfect Moments on a day when most of us were just trying to survive, but there was something so beautiful about them that it is hard to deny. Maybe they are not Perfect, but they were comforting.

Angelic Voice at a Beach Bar

After an adventurous drive from the rafting place that included a traffic jam, an epic 20 car reverse on a bridge to allow an ambulance to pass, the passing of an Exodus cycling group, and a driver change, we arrived in Puerto Viejo.

We checked into our accommodations, and headed to a beach bar to enjoy happy hour– which in most of my travels has lasted far longer than an hour.  This one was no exception.  As you can tell from my pictures (including the ones on Instagram) the sunset was great.

I have always enjoyed drinking at a beach bar– Wakayama, Vietnam.  There’s something just so perfect about it.

We decided to wait there until dinner and I am glad we did.  While either the first or the second of my two for one drinks, I noticed that I was really enjoying the folk music they were playing.  It was beautiful.  I was going to ask someone who it was when I realized that it was a live singer strumming a guitar.  I really enjoyed the music. I even contributed to the tip jar, so I must have enjoyed it.

I met the singer later.  She performed Sundays and Thursdays, and she was an east coast Canadian from Halifax.  I complimented her on singing– but then we had to go.

Such a small world.